FJ40 Won't Shift

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fjrocks

fjrocks

10 Year
Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Threads
15
Messages
78
Location
Utah
I've been browsing the topics on this but haven't found one that fits. I've recently replaced the clutch in a 1978 FJ40 with stock setup. When my son and I were putting the tranny back in we were having some problems lining up the shaft so I dropped the shifter in and put it into gear. We got it all mounted up and when I put the shifter back it wouldn't shift out of gear. I tried rotating the flywheel and even depressing the clutch but nothing works-still stuck in gear. Help!!
ImageUploadedByIH8MUD Forum1407688049.822387.webp



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tranny needs to be in neutral for shifter to go in right ,yours doesnt look like its in neutral
 
That's the problem, I can't get it in neutral. How do I get it out of gear?


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I can get the shifter in by the way. It seems to mount just fine but as I said before it won't shift out of gear.
 
Had this happen on my spare tranny. Po pulled the shifter out while the tranny was still in gear. I popped the top plate that the shifter mounts to off the trans and figured out where neutral was then put it back together. Theres 3? Shift rods in there that move back and forth when you select a gear and they function opposite to the shifter (when youre going into first you move the shifter to the left and up, in the trans the end of the shifter is moving right and back). Theres a couple little springs in there at the end of each rod that you probably dont wanna lose so keep an eye out for them.

Theres probably an easier way to do this but I wanted to see what it looked like in there. Probably mess around with a flat screw driver and get it done through the shifter hole....

D
 
I tried the screwdriver idea without success. I really don't want to drop the tranny again to take off the top since we had such a hard time getting it in (we ended up having to rent a tranny jack). Anyone else able to fix this without dropping it?
 
Is there a trick to using the screwdriver?
 
Should be able to move those shift collars with a big flat blade screwdriver.
Are you certain that you installed the clutch disc With the flat side facing toward the front of the rig?
 
fjrocks said:
I've been browsing the topics on this but haven't found one that fits. I've recently replaced the clutch in a 1978 FJ40 with stock setup. When my son and I were putting the tranny back in we were having some problems lining up the shaft so I dropped the shifter in and put it into gear. We got it all mounted up and when I put the shifter back it wouldn't shift out of gear. I tried rotating the flywheel and even depressing the clutch but nothing works-still stuck in gear. Help!!View attachment 927913


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When you finally got the shaft to line up, was the tranny flush against the bell housing before you threaded the bolts, or did you have to tighten the bolts to draw the tranny toward the bell housing the last inch?
 
I think you should be able to do it without removing the assembly from the truck. I rebuilt my transmission/transfer case last summer so it's a little hazy (fwiw I gave up on attempting to muscle it in and had a shop reinstall it after I rebuilt it, that thing is a cumbersome beast). If you can't do it with a screwdriver (assuming here that it isn't something related to alignment from the install) as it is now, you should be able to do it easy enough by removing the top plate (assuming your tunnel cover is off). You may have to get another gasket or just use some permatex and don't lose the springs/balls. Here is a photo of what it looks like. One other thing if you go this route: I don't recall if it was this cover or the larger one, but keep track of which bolt goes in which cover hole. One of the cover panels has one bolt that is just slightly longer than the others (for a bracket or something if I recall correctly) but I think it's another panel. Again, not as scary as it seems. Also, look on Vae Victus thread. He also rebuilt his and took more photos of the process. I think he has a 78 too (as do I).

ImageUploadedByIH8MUD Forum1407726787.171713.webp


Just to show it all went back together:

ImageUploadedByIH8MUD Forum1407726877.137972.webp


Tub


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Transmission should be able to shift without the clutch without the engine running. Only way it might not is if the clutch is in wrong and it's binding up. If you move the transfer case to neutral it should be loose at the tailshaft so even if the clutch is in wrong the transmission should shift. If it still doesn't your back to the shifter in transmission which is my guess.
 
Do you remember which gear you put it in? In your pic from what I can tell the thin slide needs to be moved so it lines up w/the fat one & the revese plunger,so the notches are alined. If the thin 1 is slid back, the fat 1 probably won't move & vice versa. There's probably a detent that prevents the trans to be put in 2 gears at the same time.
 
you can use a screwdriver to line them up you can tell by the photo its not in neutral .the middle rod needs to go forward or backward to line up the slots then it should work .even with the disc in backwards it would still shift just sitting there
 
Thanks for all the help and replies! I really appreciate it. After quite some work with the screwdriver I was able to get it all lined up and the shifter reinstalled. It moves though all the gears really well. Hopefully we'll have it cranked up and on the road this weekend.
 
Similar situation- Drove FJ40 around very little this winter/spring but shifted fine until a hot day last weekend. Parked on side of road backed in, did a little fishing and returned to leave. Started engine drove 25 feet and tried to shift to 2nd. Clutch depresses and disengages but shifter won't budge and looks like it is neutral. Had to limp home in first gear (though I glided from Rampart Range Rd all the way down to Sedalia)

Any solutions or suggestion before I rip this apart?
 
Norseman66 said:
Similar situation- Drove FJ40 around very little this winter/spring but shifted fine until a hot day last weekend. Parked on side of road backed in, did a little fishing and returned to leave. Started engine drove 25 feet and tried to shift to 2nd. Clutch depresses and disengages but shifter won't budge and looks like it is neutral. Had to limp home in first gear (though I glided from Rampart Range Rd all the way down to Sedalia)

Any solutions or suggestion before I rip this apart?
Click to expand...

More info is needed. After you started the motor, were you able to use the clutch to get into first gear? If so, how did the clutch feel at that time? With the motor off and the 40 on a flat level surface (no rolling of the 40 possible) can you shift from gear to gear easily?

Just wondering if something happened to the clutch master or slave. Get a helper to work the clutch peddle while you watch the clutch slave and arm.

Don
 
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